How the University of Akron Moved from City College to State University

Background

The University of Akron, originally called Buchtel College, was founded in 1870. The school was named after coal and iron industry leader John Buchtel and associated with the Universalist Church. The school later became non-denominational.

In 1913, facing financial difficulties, the school’s trustees turned it over to the city of Akron and it began serving as the city’s municipal university. At around this point, the school began to call itself the University of Akron. In 1967, it officially became one of Ohio’s state universities.

The University of Akron’s main campus enrolled more than 27,000 students in fall 2010 and employed about 5,000 people.

The school’s 2012 budget was nearly $400 million.

Annual undergraduate tuition and fees for an Ohio resident attending the University of Akron’s main campus in 2011-12 was $9,245. With room and board, the bill would come to about $19,535.

According to the most recent federal data, about one third of University of Akron main campus, full-time undergraduates who entered the school in fall 2003 graduated within six years.

Latest Posts

July 28, 2014

Scott Scarborough / Photo courtesy of The University of Akron Between dealing with issues like decreasing state support, the so-called “arms race” to expand campus facilities, and growing administrative costs, being a university president in today’s higher education world may be a tough gig. Scott Scarborough took over the helm of The University of Akron [...]

May 8, 2014

Scott Scarborough / Photo courtesy of The University of Akron The University of Akron’s presidential search is over. University of Toledo provost Scott Scarborough will assume Akron’s top role after current president Luis Proenza retires in June. Scarborough was one of the top three finalists for the job, beating out The University of Maryland Eastern [...]

April 13, 2014

COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF AKRON University of Akron Vice President Jim Tressel is now pursuing two presidential posts in Northeast Ohio. The former Ohio State football coach, who is already being considered by the University of Akron, submitted his application to Youngstown State University on Friday. Since February 2012, Tressel has served as the University [...]

February 7, 2014

REYNOLDS.JAMES.E / FLICKR The University of Akron is considering suspending and then eliminating 55 academic programs due to low enrollment and low placement rates after graduation. The news came this week following a Board of Trustees meeting. Programs likely to get the ax range from bachelor’s degrees in theater arts and classical studies to master’s [...]

Jim Tressel was being considered “very actively for two or three presidencies” before he joined the University of Akron. And now he’s a candidate for the president’s job at Akron.

August 7, 2013

University of Akron President Luis Proenza announced his retirement today after serving as the school’s president for nearly 15 years. Proenza’s last day as president will be June 30, 2014. WKSU’s Kabir Bhatia reports: Proenza is the longest continually serving president at a public university in Ohio. Under a deal reached with the Board of [...]

June 4, 2013

Evan Chaloupka is an adjunct professor of English at Lakeland Community College. And Lake Erie Community College. And Ursuline University. Like many adjunct professors, Chaloupka has to cobble together a “full time position” between several colleges. He says he makes a grand total of less than $20,000 annually. Chaloupka was on WCPN 90.3′s The Sound of Ideas [...]

January 9, 2013

wrightbrosfan / Flickr Add Akron to a growing number of cities that are cutting this deal with students: Get good grades in high school, graduate and we’ll help you pay for college. The Akron school board has agreed to trade an old high school building to the University of Akron in exchange for full-tuition scholarships for some [...]

February 23, 2012

Kent State University has launched a new $100,000 advertising campaign featuring nearly 20 billboards proclaiming Kent State State “#1 in college graduates in Northeast Ohio.” But what exactly does that mean? A commenter on Kent State’s Facebook wall wrote: “I saw it on I77 in Cleveland. I’m not exactly sure what it means, though. Does [...]

February 9, 2012

When the University of Akron wanted to acquire an unused Akron high school without paying cash-money, the college’s general counsel went to talk to their state rep. A little while later — voila! — HB 381 appears.